Eleanor and Park SPOILER-FREE Review

Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor.

Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

PLOT

I cannot believe that I only just read a Rainbow Rowell book… I NEED TO READ EVERYTHING SHE EVER WRITES! This book was so good! I loved how Rowell basically made this book a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Also, I feel like my parents would really enjoy this book. It’s set in the 1986 and my mom would have been Eleanor and Park’s age back then. I really want to know what she would think of it and if she would actually get all of the references. Anyways, I LOVE Rainbow Rowell’s writing. It is so simplistic and blunt, but so meaningful. If you haven’t read any Rainbow Rowell books, I highly suggest you do!

CHARACTERS

Can we please talk about how realistic and relatable these characters are? I absolutely LOVE Eleanor and Park! They both have their flaws, but I just can’t help but love them! Eleanor wasn’t my favourite character in the beginning, but I definitely grew to love her character throughout the book. I couldn’t even imagine the situation she was living in; she didn’t even have a toothbrush! It was interesting to read from Eleanor’s perspective, knowing what she thought of herself. I feel like that self hatred is something all of us experience but it still made me want to hug Eleanor. Also, I really disliked Eleanor’s mother. She was so passive and didn’t try to do anything to protect her kids, unless she did and I’m just judging her way too harshly. Then there’s Park and I love him SO SO much. He’s so relatable and I just can’t with him. The way he treated Eleanor was so sweet and kind. Also, his comic books were adorable and his music taste was on point! Plus, I loved Park’s family dynamic! I really hated Eleanor’s family (except for Ben and Mouse) but Park’s family was so refreshing! His mom was hilarious and while I didn’t like Park’s dad at first, II grew to love him in the end.

MAIN PROBLEM(S)

My only main problem with this book was the ending. I was pretty annoyed with Eleanor at the end of the book, but I won’t say why. Also, this book would have been SO much better with an epilogue. I don’t know why, but the ending wasn’t that satisfying for me, and I’m usually pretty satisfied with unsatisfying endings.

OVERALL

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The characters were refreshing, the story was ADORABLE, the writing was great, and I can’t wait to pick up more of Rowell’s other books!

I recommend Fangirl and the straight after, make sure you read her latest novel Carry On. Although, personally, I think Fangirl is not her best work, Carry On is really very good. In fact, you could probably read Carry On before you read Fangirl! Thanks for the great review of Eleanor and Park 🙂 !